Tow-cleaner.



No. 644,03l. Patented Feb. 20, I900.

A. MORISON.

TOW CLEANER.

(Application filed Mar. 9, 1899.)

( No mm.)

WITNESSES INVENTOR $72M W444 W W, B3 M 1, M

Attorneys.

THE NORRIS PETERS c0, woruumou WASHINGTON, u. c

- poses.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ALEXANDER MORISON, OF SAGINAWV, MICHIGAN.

TOW-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,031, dated February 20, 1900.

Application filed March 9, 1899- To all whom it m/cty concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER MORISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, county of Saginaw, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tow-Cleaners; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference-being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification.

This invention relates to tow-cleaning machines, and has for its object an improved machine adapted to clean up and render suitable for use the tow or flax fiber that has been partially cleaned by the scutching-machine, the object of the machine being to render suitable for spinning purposes that part of the tow which has heretofore been very largely waste matter. That part of the fiber which is called tow consists of the coarser part of the fiber, and generally is of shorter fiber than the finer parts from which it is separated, and. it is usually mixed more or less with short woody stem material that has not been taken out either in braking or scutching the flax, and my machine entirely cleans out all remnants of the stems and delivers the tow in a condition entirely suitable for spinning pur- The machine consists of a feed-belt on which the tow is packed and over which the tow travels to the end of the belt, where it runs under a spiked holding-cylinder and is carried into the path of a revolving steel brush of peculiar construction. The tow moves forward slowly and is caught by the brushes of a rapidly-revolving brush and the short slivers of stem are entirely torn away from the fiber and dropped, while the fiber after being treated by the scutching action of the brush for a time is itself carried forward and delivered at the tail of the machine.

In the drawing the machine is shown in sectional elevation. I

A indicates the frame, and B a revolving brush.

0 indicates a feed-belt, and D indicates a spiked holding-roll that lies above the feedbelt and close to the revolving brush B.

E indicates a concave made of slats e e, be-

Serial No. 708,322. No model-l low the brush B and so closely in contact with it that sticks and pieces of stem will not pass freely between the edges of the bars e e and the ends of the wire of the brush B.

The brush B is made in sections, each section 1) consisting of a number of flexible steel wires, and these wires are what is known as flat wires, and they are arr'anged with their long diameters longitudinal of the cylinder of the brush, so that their greatest flexibility is utilized. Between successive sections are filler-blocks, arranged to prevent the fiber from gathering and clogging in the brush, and each filler-block d is rounded off on its outer corner on that side which is in advance when the brush revolves, so that the wire in front of it can yield freely when it strikes the tow. Normally the blocks are entirely free from the wires of the brush, and the wires of the brush are not thickly set, but are entirely free from one another. Each section of the brush is separated from adjoining sections by a slot 0, through which there is a constant outflow of air when the rotary brush is in motion, and the outfiowing current of air aids in keeping the tow from matting in the brush and also aids in separating the wood from the fiber and driving it through the slats of the concave. the brush is covered by a casing A.

At the tail of the machine is located a cleaning-wheel F, around which are set teeth or spikes f. This wheel cleans from the brush any fiber that does not drop before reaching the wheel.

The long yielding bristles of the brush strike the tow with a drawing and combing blow, and should there be knots and tangles in the fiber the bristle will yield instead of break- The upper part of ing and tearing the fiber, andthe result is i ranged in sections and with air-passages leading between the brush-sections from the interior of the hollow brush, and blocks alternating with the brush-sections, arranged to prevent the tow from entering deeply between the bristles, said blocks being rounded on their outer advance corner, whereby the bristles are permitted to yield backward, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER MORISON. \Vitnesses:

J OHN N. GoonRIoH, O. 0. JENNINGS. 

